Demon
The Demon is a surface predator which resembles a grotesque. Appearance and Behaviour Demons are large, powerful predators that are only found on the surface. They have a human sized body with a knobbly spine, short tail and three sets of limbs. The Demon has four prehensile limbs and two large wings. They have a long head with a blunt snout, consisting of a bat-like nose, green eyes with vertical cat-like slit pupils set far apart on the head, and a large mouth with 4 primary teeth and several secondary teeth. Demons' backs are covered in sparse, short black fur and there are folds of skin on the base of the neck. Demons produce roars that seem to be a guttural version of a Tiger's. Demons hunt in small packs spread out over several blocks, so if you see one, there's probably another close by. They hunt Howlers and humans brave or foolish enough to venture to the surface. They perch on the corners of buildings next to a relatively open area, allowing them to find prey more easily. While they prefer to attack by circling overhead and swooping down on prey to wound it or carry it away, if they can catch humans in the open they will sometimes land to attack. They tend to avoid entering structures as this limits their ability to escape by flying if the situation turns against them, but in some occasions they will attack through windows, doors, or damaged walls or other barriers to get at human prey inside. Mutated From Despite appearing to be descended from Bats, Demons don't have projecting ears, instead possessing ear-holes similar to that of reptiles, birds and amphibians. However, the Demons possess hair while lacking feathers, scales, or beaks, suggesting a mammal origin. Their size, specialised predatory features, and vestigial (though still easily visible) tail make a Bat ancestry less likely, and their legs are similar to feline or canine hind legs. Also, their roars strongly resemble those of a lion, tiger, or other large cat (as opposed to the screeching of a bat), and they possess vertical slit pupils similar to felines. These features, in addition to the layout of their teeth, would seem to support the possibility that the demons are descended from tigers, which were native to some parts of Russia before the war. Tactics The demon usually flies around, high up where you can't get to it, before it swoops down to either attack in passing with its claws and teeth, or else to pick its victim up and drop them from high above to kill them. Although it's not a very big being, it will take quite a few shots from the Shotgun to kill it, and even more from a Kalash. Fighting it in an open space will most likely lead to your death. The best way to get it down on the ground is to find a small room with a view to the outside and lure it down by walking out and in again and taking your shot at it. Position yourself in a place with a small opening; because of its size it cannot fit through small hiding spots, giving you the perfect advantage. Alternatively, sneaking up behind them and using a Sticky Grenade will cause them to fly off and explode, although it is important to allow enough time on the fuse for the demon to take off to avoid being killed by your own explosive. Make sure you are prepared, as they are extremely tough, even on easy difficulty, taking between six and twelve shots from the Automatic Shotgun, or almost three magazines from a Kalash. on lower difficulties, one revolver wheel (six rounds) will usually suffice. The demons prefer to perch in only a handful of locations; it is possible to locate an area of cover with a view of one of these positions and inflict headshots on the demons with a scoped weapon. They will usually take off after the first few shots, but will eventually return to the same position. A scoped revolver is ideal for this method of attack, being able to kill the demon with relatively few shots. Trivia *Bourbon prefers to call them bitches, as he says in the mission Dead City 1. *You will receive the "Inquisitor" achievement for killing 2 Demons. This is a reference to the Spanish inquisition back in the middle ages when there was a lot of superstition concerning people having demonic powers and using witchcraft. Inquisitors were the ones to "end the threat" (usually by killing the suspected "demon"). *They prefer high locations from where they can spot their prey. The largest amount of Demons encountered in game can be found at Ostankino Tower. Roughly six are seen at once descending from the tower to attack the Rangers as they are busy fighting the Howler horde. *You don't ever have to kill any of the Demons in game, all can be avoided except the on top of the Ostankino Tower. On the other hand, all Demons can be killed (excluding the swarm from the Tower level), but some are particularly difficult to kill, as they only appear for a short period of time. However, they can be easily eliminated if you have a spiked grenade lying around. *If you get pounced by a Demon, or picked up off the ground, you cannot survive, this always ends in death. *On Dead City 2, you have roughly 10-20 seconds to run from, or kill the Demon that attacks you and Bourbon, or it will pounce you. This gives you just enough time to clear any Howlers in your path, and run for cover. *During the mission on the military archives a Librarian nearly kills Artyom, who is then saved by a Demon, who then tries to kill him right after, only to be saved again by the Librarian attacking the demon from behind, the attack leads to the elevator Artyom is in to fall, again nearly killing him. *In the book, some of the Rangers tell Artyom that the Demons might actually come from the native birds who resided in Moscow before the blast. The idea is later re-inforced as a Ranger informs that demons nest, usually in high places. Category:Mutants